


You Think This Hasn't Happened to Me

by canbrooklynwrite



Category: We Are The Tigers - Allen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:56:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25985503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canbrooklynwrite/pseuds/canbrooklynwrite
Summary: Chess gets a very important letter in the mail and wants Kate with her to read it while Kate reflects on Chess leaving
Relationships: Chess & Kate (We Are The Tigers)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. The Letter

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I discovered WATT recently and decided to try my hand at writing a little. These chapters are super short, but I wanted to go ahead and divide them up so I felt like I was doing more lol! Anyway, I hope you like this! Please feel free to leave constructive criticism; let me know what you like and what you don't. I'd love to hear from you!

As Kate walks out of the school building, she feels her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulls it out to see Chess’s name on the screen, trying to FaceTime her. Chess always left school earlier than Kate on days they didn’t have practice because the seniors had study hall for the last period of the day. Kate hits “accept” to answer the call and is greeted by a very excited Chess. 

“Kate, it’s here!”

“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s here?’

Chess picks up an envelope and holds it up to the camera. The top of the envelope has  _ Ithaca College  _ printed on the top. Kate’s stomach dropped. 

“Oh my gosh, really? Have you opened it yet?”

“No dummy, we said we were going to open it together. I’m waiting for you.”

“I’ll be there in 10.”

* * *

_Crap._ thinks Chess. _This is going to define_ _my future. I have based the entire rest of my life on the contents of this letter. If I don’t get in, I’m screwed._ Chess puts the letter on the island in the kitchen as she paces around the room. _I should’ve applied to more places. I shouldn’t have listened to Dad when he said I didn’t need to. Just because I have pretty good grades doesn't mean I’ll get in. Oh gosh, what if I don’t get in. If I don’t, do I even want Kate here?_

Chess’s thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of Kate pulling into the driveway. Chess walked to open the door and saw that Kate somehow looked even more nervous than she was.

“Are you ready for this?” Chess asks, suddenly a little concerned.

“Am I ready? It’s your letter, Chess.” Kate walks inside and into the kitchen. She sits on a stool in front of the island, picks up the letter, and holds it out to her best friend across the island. “Are  _ you _ ready?”

“I guess? I kinda have to be, right?” she says with a shrug, hoping that Kate can’t see all of the doubt that fills her mind. Kate was always trying to get Chess to believe in herself, but right now, that was hard. 

Chess sits in the other stool next to Kate and takes a deep breath. She starts to pick up the letter, but she hesitates. 

“Chess, what are you waiting for? Whatever it says, it’s not going to change the longer you wait. Let’s just get this over with, okay? I’m right here.” Kate reaches over and grabs her best friend’s hand. It always made them both feel so much better. Chess smiled, squeezed Kate’s hand, and picked up the letter. 

“Okay, here it goes…”

Chess ripped open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. She read aloud, “ ‘Dear Francesca, congratulations! We have reviewed your application and are pleased to announce that you have been accepted into Ithica College Class of 2023’” She couldn’t believe it. “Kate...I got in. I did it.” 

“Chess that’s amazing!” Kate couldn’t help but smile because she knew this was everything that Chess had ever wanted. She pulled her into a giant hug. “I’m so proud of you! I knew you’d get in.”

“I know you did. And I’m so glad you believed in me.” Chess sighed from relief. “Wow. I really did it.” 

“You really did. Now let’s celebrate with some ice cream or something because I’m hungry and you deserve it.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so maybe I chose Ithica because that's where Celeste went but you can't prove it...
> 
> Thanks for reading! See you in the next chapter :)


	2. Just Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little Kate angst about how important Chess is to her. Short and sweet :)

Chess drove them to the coffee shop down the street which also happened to have the most amazing milkshakes in town. The girls had been here hundreds of times together, but today felt extra special. Kate ordered the Cookie Monster shake (essentially Cookies and Cream, but it’s blue and always stained her mouth. Her brother always made fun of her for it, but she knew it made Chess smile) and Chess ordered the classic Strawberry shake. They sat in their table by the window, enjoyed their shakes, and laughed a lot.

For these two, it was just a normal day. That’s how it always was when Kate was with Chess Ever since they met, everything just came easy for her when they were together. Hard things were suddenly easy to talk about, jokes were 100x funnier, and life was just better. Some of the worst times in Kate’s life were when Kate was keeping secrets from her best friend because it just ate at her conscience until they talked about it. But right now, there was a secret that she knew she couldn’t ever mention. Kate didn’t want Chess to leave. She couldn’t deal with it. They had talked about it a little, but Chess didn’t understand the scale of it and Kate liked it that way. Chess didn’t need to know how much Kate actually needed her. How much of her life revolved around being with Chess or talking to Chess or thinking about Chess. And yes, at one point Kate had had a crush on Chess but that’s not what this is. Chess was her person. The one person in her life who she knew she could always count on. She couldn’t imagine a world where that person was halfway across the country instead of three blocks away. She knew she had to, just not yet. 

All this ran through Kate’s head while they talked in the coffee shop until it got dark. Chess drove back to her house so Kate could get her car and go home. Kate was thankful because, after hours of distracting herself from the inevitable breakdown after Chess’s college acceptance letter, she didn’t know how long she could hold it together. 

“Thanks for being here Kate. I’m really glad I got to share this whole day with you.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. And you know I’ll always be here. Always.”

Chess beamed, obviously still very excited about the letter. Kate puller her into a bear hug and sighed. Chess hugged back even harder, which was almost impossible because Kate seemed to be hanging on for dear life. When they finally let go, they both reminded the other how much they loved them. Then Kate got in her car and started her drive home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably should have just kept these all in the same chapter, but it's too late now! See you in the last chapter!


	3. Brothers and Best Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now we get to hear a little of what it was like when Kate's brothers went off to college. We know she's been left before, but why was it so hard? And hadn't she seen all this coming?
> 
> (The short answer is yes)

Kate had always known Chess would leave. That had always been her reality. Chess was too smart to stay where they were and go to the tiny community college there. Kate had been thinking about this since 8th grade when she had to spend a whole year stuck without Chess with her in middle school and Chess in high school. She had an idea of what was coming, but she still didn’t like it. She had also been left by her brothers, though losing Chess was harder. 

Kyle is 10 years older than Kate and Kent is 4 years older. Growing up in a separated home meant that her brothers were the most consistent family that she had. When Kyle graduated, she was crushed. He went all the way across the country for school, so she went from seeing him almost every day, hanging out, and playing video games with him to seeing him maybe a total of 3 times every year. Nowadays, he and his wife visit for Christmas and that’s all. 

Kent was even harder to say goodbye to. They were closer in age so there were times when they used to do everything together. Their parents put them in matching Halloween costumes, they had joint birthday parties (they were both born in February and it saved money), and they even used to share a room when they were super little. They used to be inseparable. Then Kent hit high school and being friends with your little sister was no longer cool, so they drifted apart. Kent went to a state school, so he visits every once in a while but even seeing him makes Kate remember how much she misses the old Kent. He was the very first family member she ever told that she liked girls and he was really supportive. He gave her the courage to even talk to her parents. He as there for her when she needed someone and now he’s not there at all. 

So thinking about Chess leaving was always hard for Kate. She knew how hard it would be, or at least she thought she did. Seeing Chess’s acceptance letter made it too real. She thought of her leaving less than a year from now was too much. Kate pulled into her own driveway, ignored her dad as she ran up to her room, and finally broke down in tears. 

She whispered quietly to herself through tears, “Not you too Chess...not you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this. It's my first fic and hopefully, you guys like it and I'll do more. See you guys next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so maybe I chose Ithica because that's where Celeste went but you can't prove it...
> 
> Thanks for reading! See you in the next chapter :)


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